Is Oloyede J a Lone Voice in the Judicial Wilderness?
has found itself and demonstrate exactly how he intends to lead Osun out of this unprecedented lowliness, he and his deputy should be impeached.
The Nigerian Constitution in section 39 guarantees the right of every citizen to freedom of expression. This is a fundamental right, but the body language of the state and recent actions of the State House of Assembly over this matter reveal otherwise.
With the retinue of aids and apparatus of office at the disposal of the Governor, one would have expected a robust reply to the petition, if not for the sake of the petitioner but for the sake of the thousands of Osun workers and by extension Osun people who elected him into office and before whom his image may suffer great erosion.
Nigeria's democracy must evolve out of the culture of prebendalism, where prospective leaders go cap in hand at rallies promising heaven on earth, only to attain office and transform overnight into unquestionable overlords.
An investigative panel was set up and the first person to be summoned was the Judge to defend her petition, her request to see the reply of the governor was turned down. The panel said the governor’s reply was "confidential" and their mission was "fact finding only". This is very regrettable. The judge is not on trial. It is the very fabric of the state that is on trial, not even the governor. He is only a custodian which is why he is the subject of the petition. If unpaid staff and grappling citizens take the law into their hands by going on protracted strikes and embarking on volatile demonstrations, the immediate and remote effects will be untold. Governors come and go no matter how well or ill intentioned, but the state remains, hence the petitioner is not only entitled to a reply, but a public petition to a public office holder must be replied publicly. Every Osun indigene and by extension every Nigerian needs to know how government arrived at the decisions that have affected the general- ity of others and this is the crux of the Freedom of Information Act.
In a twist of fate, the State House of Assembly has not only thrown out the petition, they have described the petitioner in very vindictive terms. This action begs the question. Res ipsa loquitor, Osun state still owes Salaries, staff are still on strike, the state is grinding to a halt and the governor’s reply is still confidential.
Leading lights of the Legal Profession and a sundry of critics have also berated the honourable Justice for delving into politics. They also argue that she failed to follow due process. What they have not addressed is since when the fight for survival and the primordial instinct of a worker to earn pay become politics? Or, when becoming a judge disabled the appointed from exercising their fundamental right? Is this actually a question of due process or a matter of life and death? Can her critics identify with walking 6km daily to and from work without anything to show for it, like some of the Osun workers? How many of those who consider this petition out of place will be quiet when their means of livelihood cannot keep them alive? Okay, If Oloyede had not belled the cat, who will? Would they? These are the pertinent questions that form the substance of this petition and the privileged, cannot wish them away.
Oloyede's voice should not be treated subjectively. It is the voice of the voiceless, it is the voice of the illiterates, it is the voice of the literate, but afraid, it is the voice of the dying, hungry and unsure. It is the voice of reason. It is anything but a lone voice in the wilderness and anyone and everyone who treats it subjectively and not objectively will answer to posterity. Power is transient, posterity is immortal. If Citizens have no right to question the government, then they have no rights at all.
Mr. Okeibunor, a Lawyer is the Executive Director of the Centre for